A cat project (plus bonus)
Sun, 12 Jul 2009There is always a project going on at my house. The latest project was for the cats. I finally sold my vintage retro sofa I had in the living room that for the past 3 months had been piled up in my office under the window. It had turned into the cats favourite spot to sleep in the sun and watch squirrels. When the sofa was picked up, I knew I had to create something for them to use in it's place so my boyfriend and I went to Ikea to look for something we could hack and use as a cat perch. We made it through most of the store without finding anything and I was starting to panic, until Jeff spotted a baby change table (the Sniglar).
It was only $49.99, had 2 shelves, and could easily be chopped in half (I wanted it to be pretty narrow, just deep enough to fit a cat comfortably). It turned out perfectly. I painted it white (yellow first but it was way too bright), bought some stryofoam (fabric store was out of the foam I wanted) which I wrapped in batting and then fabric (thanks Jo!), and placed the "cushions" in the shelves. And voila, a perfect under-the-window cat perch.
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I have to give Jeff credit for coming up with the idea of using the leftover piece of the change table as a new display unit for my West German pottery collection. The table I had been using was too deep, and this new shelving created a much wider space to walk from the living room into the kitchen. (In a 12 ft wide house, the narrower the furniture the better!) I painted some chalkboard paint roughly along the front edge and wrote what was on display. It's a perfect use for the rest of the table that I would have otherwise thrown out.
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Reader Comments (40)
that's so cute! i'll have to try that for my kitty Rama
That is a fantastic idea! Since your house is narrow it is perfect not only for the kitties but the pottery. NICE!
What a genius application of furniture! The cats look thrilled and the pottery is beautifully displayed. All for 50 bucks. Amazing.
beautiful!
you should definitely show this off over at http://www.moderncat.net/
Wonderful! Kim - the chalkboard paint labeling your display is a really nice touch! I never tire of your projects! Keep 'em coming.
Cool work. double score!
Great idea and obviously a great boyfriend, so handy. Can I ask what kind of paint you used on your stairs and floor, I am about to redo a staircase and don't know what paint I should buy.
this is an awesome idea!!! i love it -- both of them!
Thanks y'all!
gdaybeautiful, I used Benjamin Moore's Porch and Floor paint. I highly recommend it for it's durability and it's super easy to apply (but takes 24 hours between coats).
Your cats all have their ears back in the pics!??
You need to correct your electrical cord under your white table vignette in your living room. It ruins your nice sight line.
wonderful job. :) I might do this for my kitties.
Brilliant Ikea hack! I think it looks great painted white with the color just in the fabric. Can I ask where you got the striped rug in front of your yellow door? Another Ikea find?
-FF
foreverfreida, you got it - it's Ikea too. My fav Ikea rug EVER.
Sandra, I usually remember to hide that dumbass black cord of my white lamp (why someone would make a lamp like that is beyond me) but I was in a rush to get these pics taken so I could enjoy a bit of my Sunday. And the cats don't all have their ears back. Cats that live in luxury as they do here don't have any reason whatsoever to have their ears back. :)
this looks phenom!! brilliant job!
so creative!!!!
How did you attach them to the walls? Just wondering because something like this would be perfect in our (teeny) bathroom.
Kim, those are some lucky cats!!! I have 2 cats myself and I can't show them these images or they will ask me why I am so lame! Now I feel guilty... Maybe I need to pay good old Ikea a visit. Thank you for the inspiration!
just perfect! :)
I don't havy cats, but I have a lot of pottery ;)
I really love the colors in your home.
:)
Have a nice day!
Thanks everyone!
f, we just used a small strip of wood under each shelf. we screwed that into the wall, then screwed the shelf from above into that - this is perfect because the particleboard that slips in as the shelf is very thin and this way you can put heavy things on it. we then put a screw from each side of the frame into the wall and this way the entire thing is secure. we used drywall screws (so no plugs or anything) and it's very sturdy, especially when 18 lb cats launch themselves onto it.
Very creative re-purposing of a baby changing table! I love the look of both the kitty table and the pottery shelf, especially how they are attached to the wall.
This is such a great post! Thanks! The wheels are turning...
This is absolute genius! I am keeping this one in my idea file :) I adore the fabrics you chose for the cushions, and it's fantastic that you were able to use the other piece of the table for pottery! Very nice.
Gorgeous painted floors! :)
What thoughtful cat parents!! Cool idea. I LOVE your creativity!
My cats are so jealous!